My Kingdom for Feminine Influence

After spending the last four weeks as the only woman on a production team, I have learned a fundamental lesson about the importance of influence. Influence is not the same as giving direction or having authority. The title of director, manager or producer come with the ability to influence and lead a group, only if those individuals are willing to be led by that person. It has been my experience in working with masculine-dominated teams, that if you want something done, give the idea to the one that all the other males respect and follow. And by give I mean, find a way to allow that person to take ownership of the idea/solution that you offer and detach from any need to take credit for it, voice it or be rewarded for your contribution in any way. Why? Because unless that male is more evolved and enlightened than the vast majority, a woman is unlikely to get the credit that she deserves. The fundamental difference between the gracious woman and the immature version of her: the gracious woman is not bothered by the male taking credit for her idea because the reward is in knowing her truth, not in what others think. The reward for her is in self-mastery and the calm of humility that is much deeper than a pat on the back or peer recognition. While it is nice to be given tribute for one’s ideas, and it’s fair and reasonable to want that; there was a great deal of satisfaction in my experience when someone else aligned himself to my desire and made it his own. And because of the level of respect the males had for him, the suggestion was embraced. How do I know that it would not have been taken in the same way if it had been me who spoke? Because that strategy had already failed me on several attempts. In fact, I might go so far as to say, that strategy has failed me most of my life.

The discovery of how a quiet one-to-one dialogue can yield the exact result I wanted with the larger group, was a surprise and a great relief. No longer do I think that I need to be the one to directly speak to a problem. In fact, I’ve learned that sometimes, it really is counter-productive (with some people!) to take a direct approach. My preference is to be direct but I don’t control how people do with that, so I am learning to adapt with what IS, not how I would like behaviours to be.

Releasing attachment to “being right” and to “getting credit for my work” felt like I stepped more firmly into the wisdom of feminine influence. A truly satisfying step.